Means for transmitting motion



April 6,1926. 1,579,681

J.VVELLER I MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING MOTION Filed Dec. 23, 1924 Patented Apr. 6, 1926.

- U A I 5 ENT 7 or F1 on,

Jenn WELLER, or YGREA'IZVBQOOKHAM, ENGLAND.

MEANS FOR TBANS MITTING MOTI ON.

" Application file d December 23,1924. Serial No. 757,617.

for use with. motion transmitting .or driving- CllZLlIlS for-taking up the slack in the-chain which arisesfor example asthe result of wear. s I g r Y I 16 7 According to my invention the device comprisesa thin flexible member or blade having its extremities unsupported and adapted to be pressed against the chain progressively and unrestrainedly by means of pressure derived for example from a spring and applied to said member between its extremities preferably at or about a point midway of its length so that, its extremities being left free, the member is able to readily conform throughout its length with the shape taken up by the chain between itsdriving and drivenelements and press, against it with a pressure; distributed evenly'over; the entire length of said member.

I mayxprovide in conjunction with said device means for damping or'preventing the oscillations of the chain which are set up for example, as the result of a rapidlyfiuctuating loadrthereon and said means may be in 3 the nature of'a-frictional or other resistance contrivance or in the natureof a dash pot.

In order that the said invention maybe clearly understood and readily carried into efiect the same will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which r Figure 1 illustrates myimproved device applied to the driving chain between two chain wheels forming part of the valve oper- 'ating mechanism of an internal combustion engine, and in which the pressure appliedto the member is a continuous one. 1 s t igure 2 is a similar view to Figure 1 showing a frictional arrangement for damping out oscillations of-the chain, and Figure 3 illustrates on a larger, scale a further modification of the device.

chain'wheels and chain are contained which casing is usually closed by a cover as is well understood. D is the thin flexible member comprising a blade of thin spring steel havmg its ends bent up at d, d. t j In Figures 1 and 2 the said memberiis attached by rivets Eat a point between its extremities to a leaf spring which is fixed at its lower end f to a suitable part of the insideof the casing C, said spring acting 1 to press the member D against the chain B. and thereby take-up any slack which may develop by still further pressingthe chain inwardly] By attaching'the said member D to the spring F at a p oint between its extremities asaforesaid the ends of the member'D are left free so that the member can readily conformthroughout the-whole of its I I length to theshapetaken up by the chain between the two chainfwheels A, A,and by applying the pressure at the middle of the said memberas shown the latter is pressed against the chain'with a pressure evenly distributed over the length of said member. In j Figure 2 theleaf spring F ismade longer than in Figure 1 and l' curved or bowed so that itsfree end, f presses against the inside of the casing C the friction between the free end of thespringand the inside of the casing as the former rubs against it acting the'oscillations of the chain. g v v In Figure 3 themeinber D is pivotallyattached [tow a hollow plunger G .slidably to damp mounted in a cylinder Hattalched to the cas-" ingQ and-having a fluid containing chamber J Kis a spiral springadapted to bear at one end against" the closed end of the chamber J and at the other end against theinnervend of lthe hollow plunger G, said spring operating to'continuously press the hollow plunger outwards and the member Dcarried thereby against the chain B. The cylinder 'H' is formed or provided with a.

on or container; it having a, passage 7 h through whichfluidwhich may be the lubrieating 'oil used for the moving parts of the I capacity is increasedby the outward movement of the plunger dueto increasing slack in the chain Bg or' to compensate for any leakgearing, can reach the interior of the cyl-' I inderH by passingalong the clearance ex st- 7 @ing between the plunger and the cylinder or age of the oil from the said chamber thereby always keeping the fluid containing chamber J full.

By adjusting the area of the communicating passage it between the cup or container 7L and the fluid containing chamber J the fiow of oil therethrough can be controlled so that while suflicient to convey additional oil to the fluid containing chamber 3 under the suction of the plunger G during its gradual out-ward movement, is not sufiicient topermit a rapid return, thus preventing a reciprocating movement of the plunger due to the tendency of the chain B to oscillate under fluctuating loads. If it is desired to obtain a more elastic or dash pot effect the clearance between the plunger G and the cylinder H may be increased so that oil can escape between the plunger and the cylinder when the former moves inwardly. The cup or container h is, in the example shown open ended 5,0 that it can be kept supplied with the lubricating oil which is: splashed up in the cas'ing by the driving mechanism during working.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A device for taking up the slack in a motion transmitting chain comprising a thin flexible member having its extremities uni-supported and means for progressively and unrestrainedly pressing said member against the chain.

2. A device for taking up the slack in a motion transmitting chain comprising a thin flexible member having its extremities unsupported and means for progressively and unrestrainedly pressing said member at a point betweenits' extremities against the chain.

A device for taking up the slack in a motion transmitting chain. comprising a thin flexible member having its extremities unsupported and means for progressively and unrestrainedly pressing said member midway of its length against the chain.

at. A device for taking up the slack in a motion transmitting chain comprising a thin flexible member having its extremities unsupported, means for exerting j rogrcssive and unrestrained pressure on said member between its extremities in a direction against the chain and means for restraining return movement of said member.

'5. A device for taking up the slack in a motion transmitting chain comprising a thin flexible member having its extremities unsupported, means for progressively and pressure on said member against the chain and a dash pot device for damping oscillations of said chain.

7. A device for taking up the slack in a motion transmitting chain comprising a thin flexible member having its extremities unsupported, a plunger attached to said member between its extremities, a stationaryi fluid-containing cylinder in which said plunger slides, and means for pressing said plunger and said member outwardly againiit the chain. 7

8. A device for taking up the slack in a motion transmitting chain comprising a thin flexible member having its extremities unsupported, a plunger pivoted to said member between its extremities, a stationary oilcontaining cylinder in which said plunger slides, means for pressing said plunger and said member outwardly against the chain, means for restricting the flow of the oil from said oil-containing cylinder and means for supplying oil to said oil-containing cylinder.

9. A device for taking up the slack in a motion transmitting chain comprising a thin flexible member having its extremities unsupported, a plunger pivoted to said member between its extremities, a stationary oilcontaining cylinder in which said plunger slides, a spring for pressing said plunger and said member continuously outward against the chain, means for, restricting the How of the oil from said oil-containing cylinder and an oil receptacle communicating with said cylinder for supplying additional oil to said oil-containing cylinder.

10. A device for taking up the slack in a motion transmitting chain comprising a thin flexible member having its extremities unsupported, a hollow plunger pivoted to said member midway of its length, a stationary oil-containing cylinder in which said hollow plunger slides, a helical spring for pressing said hollow plunger and said member continuously outward. against the chain, mean; for restricting the flow of the oil from said oil-containing cylinder and. an open-ended oil receptacle communicating with said cylinder for receiving and supplying additional oil to said oil-containing cylinders.

, JOHN WELLER. 1 

